Wednesday, May 21, 2014

As far back as I can remember, my family has had two times of year that we just understand are going to be crazy. The first is November/Devember. The second is, affectionately, summer (it usually includes a chunk of May, all of June, and July). That time is upon us, so I thought I would give you a preview of lots of things you'll be getting updated in in the upcoming weeks.

1-We are preparing the youth auditorium for our Celebration worship on Sunday evenings in the summer.

2- we are prepping a room with paint and decor for our Mugs and Muffins Bible Study.

3-I am refurbishing some of my great grandparents lawn furniture.

4-kids camp is the fourth week of June

5-I accepted a part time position (it is really flexible and I will share more details when I can)

Friday, May 16, 2014

I've had a lot on my heart about marriage lately. I'm an observer of people (some may call it nosy), and lately I've been watching people in their marriage. It is disheartening. I see couples getting divorced, newly weds quitting before they start; I see people fussing about children and lack of children, making wide claims that are so hurtful. I see so much discord and it makes me sad.

The observing pointed me back to a blog I read recently by mixandmatchmama about marriage. She said two things that I love love loved and have been on my radar since.

First, we aren't getting divorced, so we might as well get over it. Well duh. I love this! Moose and I knew going in that we were going to be til death do us part people. The sanctity of marriage is both Biblical and close to my heart. (I will take two seconds and say that I know we love in a fallen world and precious people close to me have been divorced. I don't think this is a life ending thing, nor is it 100% of the time the complete wrong decision.). God did not intend for divorce to exist, much less be prevalent. So, Moose and I will continue to "get over it!"

Second, marriage is a beautiful and fantastic thing, but sometimes it is dreadfully hard! The number one thing I tell engaged friends of mine and that I wish friends had told me is, "it's ok to think marriage is difficult. It is!" Stick two people together under own roof and throw in finances, intimacy, values, and work ethic and chaos sometimes happens. My first year of marriage was incredibly challenging, yet incredibly rewarding.

It's hard and sometimes we fight, but in the end, we are committed to the Lord and to each other and that's why our marriage will continue to work! I think my heart is heavy when I look around because so many couples view marriage as disposable. When the going gets tough, get out. My heart breaks when I consider that philosophy! There is no escape route in my marriage, only workrooms! We will be building and editing and adjusting for life, but we'll be doing it together!

Moose and I are literally the farthest thing from the perfect married couple, but we are committed to see this thing through to the end. We love each other, we love Jesus, and we know that and a little sweat equity is what it takes to build a "til death do us part" family. I challenge you in your marriage to do the same.

Monday, May 12, 2014

This weekend was the first weekend I had been home since Easter and it went by way too quickly!

Friday night, our family finally got around to celebrating my youngest sister's birthday! It was April 25! With my sister's basketball schedule and my traveling, this was the first time we had all been in town to do it! We went to Fuddruckers and went bowling! So fun. We established that Moose and my dad's college bowling classes have paid off for them! Also, my bowling form is weird, abnormal, and so wrong!

Happy Birthday Morgan!

On Saturday, I filled in for a friend at a Chick-fil-A. He had a graduation to go to and several other upper managers were going to be out that day as well. I ended up working for 11 hours that day! Felt like a grand opening. Phew, I was tired. But, I love the Chicken Shack, so it was good to hang out there.

Yesterday was Mother's Day. (I know. You hadn't heard about it on social media yet.) As an aside, between prom for the local HS and Mother's Day, I had to check my Instagram approximately 4000 times this weekend so as not to miss anything great. ;) I kid, I kid.

Since my mom was out of town for part of the day, we had planned a little pizza party after night church. It left me with a relaxing Sunday....not quite! I taught our Sunday School class and then realized that the Kids Church leader was out. (My mom is our Children's Director, so when she's out, I check on these things.) So, I scrambled and ended up teaching Kids Church as well. My dad, Moose and I had a nice not so Mother's Day lunch here:

I'm telling you. Home. Lol.

Then, we set up for a church fellowship, had a meeting, church, party, and finally to the house where we hung out with mom for Mother's Day. I got my mom an Origami Owl necklace and the quote of the night came when she was checking out the charms. She said, "a cross, a birthstone, a heart...but I don't understand why there is a 'W' charm."

We all rolled our eyes and explained that it was an M! (All of our names start with M). Bless-she claimed sleepy, but we are a tad concerned.

My selfie master sister left this gem for me to share with you as I finish the weekend recap! Love my family!!!

Day 124: the worst part of traveling is unpacking! Hate it so much (I will even confess that some of that laundry is still sitting in the suitcase!!!)

Day 125: so grateful for a lazy evening on the couch! Glad to be at home.

Day 126: saw this beautiful sunset on the way home. Glad for longer days and ready for summer!

Day 127: some things just say home to me! No judgments!

Day 128: church softball game! Sam and Moose were twinnig with orange Clemson shirts (that did NOT match the blue and red jerseys) and this was the best stalker picture I could get.

Day 129: bowling with the fam to celebrate Morgan's birthday (which was in April). I just noticed Morg has no shoes on in that nasty bowling alley!!! Also, photo cred goes to Mackenzie! Selfie master herself. :)

Day 130: did some prep for a super fun Mother's Day at Calvary. Printables, giveaways, and procrastination at it's finest on this Saturday night.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Day 117: love our Sunday road trips at Grand Openings. So grateful to be a part of this fun and amazing group of friends.

Day 118: closing time with this lady! But first, let me take a selfie! Love love her and all she has taught me. Also, this week-she became an Owner/Operator! Glad I could be there for that moment.

Day 119: caved in target and bought this. Have to be healthier and get my water in!

Day 120: thanks Rob for making my cruddy day better and for this milkshake! Yummy cfa creation!

Day 121: because when in Philly....

Day 122: finally got a beautiful day for an outside run! Gotta get back in shape to run with the XC babies soon!

Day 123: last night for this trip on the road; had a fun time bowling and hanging out with the group of trainers. As a bonus, my roommate left her ID at the bowling alley, so we made a middle of the night run back for it so she could catch her plane the next morning!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

I'm learning that communication is hard. It's messy. And there is no cookie cutter way to communicate.

I have to communicate with those I love constantly. I need to be encouraging and uplifting and share personal things about myself. I need to be intentional with these people and when I can't speak with them face to face, the amount of conversation needs to increase.

Work communication is a different type of difficult! You have to read the people with whom you are talking and address them appropriately. I've been dealing with this one a lot lately. I'm naturally a leading personality. I like to jump in and take control, then talk later. Apparently that's offensive to some (grin)! So, I'm working on really shifting blame on myself and asking leading questions to get people to figure out what I'm trying to tell them without first being overwhelming. So hard and so not me.

Communicating has become even more difficult in the age of technology. We read into texts and emails and emojis with our critical lens. Odds are, the person had an entirely different tone than you read it with. Several years back, at Micah and Chelsea's graduation, the speaker said "you have to earn the right to communicate via email or text." Now, I see why. You need to have made a connection, been expressive, and allowed tone and inflection to be seen firsthand and in person first.

There are so many different things to learn about communication! I started this journey in elementary school when my parents told me (daily) that it's not what I say, it's how I say it.....I'm still working on that one today!

Think about how you communicate. Do you appropriately adjust based on your audience? Are you intentional with those you love? Are you careful with which filter you observe written (typed) communication? Consider that today!